Week 2 Mantras - YoWangdu Tibetan Culture

WEEK TWO: MANTRAS
This week we will focus on three of the most commonly used mantras in Tibetan
Buddhism*:
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Avalokiteshvara mantra: om mani padme hung
Buddha Shakyamuni mantra: om muni muni maha muniye soha
Green Tara mantra: om tare tuttare ture soha
The goal of this week is to become familiar with these common mantras so that you can
use them in various aspects of your practice and daily life.
Avalokiteshvara mantra: Om Mani Padme Hung
Om mani padme hum is an ancient mantra that is related to the bodhisattva of
compassion, Avalokiteshvara, and with therefore the Dalai Lama, who is considered to be
an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara. *
© YoWangdu LLC — YoWangdu Tibetan Culture — www.yowangdu.com How to Pronounce the Avalokiteshvara Mantra
Video: Om Mani Padme Hum: How Tibetans Say It
Tibetans, who typically pronounce the mantra as “Om mani peme hung,” believe that
Avalokiteshvara, who we call Chenrezig, has a very special connection with Tibetans as
our protector.
In Tibetan, we say, “Chenrezig po kang chen pay lha kyel,” which means: “Chenrezig is
the Tibetans’ Buddha.” By practicing Chenrezig’s mantra, we believe that we can
accumulate merit and purify our delusions.
Every Tibetan child is taught the mantra by our parents, and we all use it very commonly
in daily life, and especially if we make a prayer walk (kora) or go to the temple, or pray
using a rosary (mala or trengwa).
Basically, any mantra is “a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered
capable of ‘creating transformation.’”
This mantra naturally comes to our hearts in any kind of difficult situation. For example,
when I was in an earthquake in Dharamsala once, when the earth started shaking, I
automatically started praying, “Om mani peme hung.”
Many people recite the mantra thousands of times in a day as part of their daily prayer
practice. We also print it on prayer flags that blow the prayer to the winds, carve it on
stones, and insert papers printed with it inside holy statues and in prayer wheels.
Almost all Tibetans recite the prayer, even though many of us don’t know the meaning.
The Meaning of Om Mani Padme Hung
The most common meaning offered for the mantra is usually something like “Behold!
The jewel in the lotus!” or “Praise to the jewel in the lotus.” But it is almost impossible to
give one exact meaning for “om mani padme hum,” since it has been interpreted in many
ways. Below, you can see His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s interpretation.
© YoWangdu LLC — YoWangdu Tibetan Culture — www.yowangdu.com From His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hum, but while you are doing
it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is
great and vast …. The first, OM … symbolizes the practitioner’s impure body,
speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a
Buddha….
The path is indicated by the next four syllables. MANI, meaning jewel, symbolizes
the … altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassionate and loving….
The two syllables, PADME, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom….
Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized
by the final syllable HUM, which indicates indivisibility….
© YoWangdu LLC — YoWangdu Tibetan Culture — www.yowangdu.com Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the
practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can
transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech,
and mind of a Buddha….
— His Holiness the Dalai Lama, www.sacred-texts.com* and Wikipedia
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There is a lot to learn this week, so we are trying to keep the explanation of each of the
three mantras brief.
You can learn more about the Avalokiteshvara mantra here >>
Buddha Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Maha Muniye Soha
Many Tibetans recite this mantra every day, many times a day, while praying on their
malas (Tibetan: trengwa), or circumambulating or prostrating.
Video: How to Pronounce the Buddha Shakyamuni Mantra
Who was the Buddha Shakyamuni?
Although there are various Buddhas – such as Maitreya, the Future Buddha, or Amitabha,
the Pure Land Buddha – it is the Buddha Shakyamuni that we mean when we say “the
Buddha.”
Shakyamuni Buddha was, historically, a spiritual master who lived and taught in modern
day India and Nepal in either the 6th or 5th century BCE, and who founded Buddhism.
The name Buddha means the “awakened” or “enlightened” one, and after his own
awakening, Shakyamuni taught a path by which others might also be awakened to the
true nature of reality, and freed from suffering.
What Does Om Muni Muni Maha Muniye Mean?
One simple way to interpret the mantra is to consider that:
Shakyamuni’s mantra is a play on his name. Muni means sage. Maha means
great. So the mantra reads “Om wise one, wise one, greatly wise one, wise one of
the Shakyans, Hail!”****
Of course, the mantra, like all of the great Buddhist mantras used by Tibetans, signifies
infinitely more than the words that comprise it. This is a classic case of the sum of the
whole being much greater than its parts.
© YoWangdu LLC — YoWangdu Tibetan Culture — www.yowangdu.com Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Interpretation
TA YA THA – it is like this
OM – The All-Knowledge of the three bodies of a buddha and of the infinite
Buddha’s Holy Body, Speech and Mind. The knowledge of the two paths to
enlightenment (Method and Wisdom), and of the two truths (Absolute and
relative) that contain all existence within them.
MUNI – Control over the suffering of the three lower realms and over the wrong
conception of the self-existent I.
MUNI – Control over the suffering of all samsara and over self-cherishing
thoughts.
MAHA MUNIYE – Great control over the suffering of subtle illusions and over
the dualistic mind.
SVAHA – May my mind receive, absorb and keep the blessings of the mantra, and
may they take root.
I’ll finish with a quote from Lama Thubten Yeshe:
“Reciting a mantra…does not mean the mere vocal repetition of speech syllables.
Many meditators know from experience that the act of reciting mantras
transcends external sounds and words. It is more like listening to a subtle inner
sound that has always inhabited our nervous system.”
Learn more about the Buddha Shakyamuni mantra in a full post here >>
Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha
Om tare tuttare ture soha is an ancient mantra that is related to Tara, the “Mother of all
Buddhas,” and especially to her manifestation as Green Tara.
Tara, who Tibetans also call Dolma, is commonly thought to be a Bodhisattva or Buddha
of compassion and action, a protector who comes to our aid to relieve us of physical,
emotional and spiritual suffering.
Video: How to Pronounce the Green Tara Mantra
© YoWangdu LLC — YoWangdu Tibetan Culture — www.yowangdu.com Tara’s 21 Forms
Tara has 21 major forms, each of which has a different color and spiritual attribute.
Of these 21 forms, two are especially popular among Tibetan people — White Tara, who
is associated with compassion and long life, and Green Tara, who is associated with
enlightened activity and abundance.
We usually think of om tare tuttare ture soha as Green Tara’s mantra, although
sometimes it is used as the main mantra for all the Tara’s.
The Green Tara mantra is one of the main mantras that we say to help ourselves and
others.
To better understand the Green Tara mantra, let’s first talk a little about who Green Tara
is, and then look at the deeper meaning of the mantra.
Green Tara: Compassion in Action
Green Tara is usually depicted as a compassionate being ready to step down from her
lotus throne to offer comfort and protection from all of the sufferings we experience in
the world.
She is shown “in a posture of ease and readiness for action. While her left leg is folded in
the contemplative position, her right leg is outstretched, ready to spring into action. Green
Tara’s left hand is in the refuge-granting mudra (gesture); her right hand makes the boongranting [giving] gesture. In her hands she also holds closed blue lotuses (utpalas), which
symbolize purity and power.” **
The First Dalai Lama’s Teachings on Tara
The first Dalai Lama wrote that we could call on her to instantly save us from eight
particular dangers, each of which represents a corresponding human mental problem:
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lions — pride
wild elephants — delusion and ignorance
forest fires — hatred
snakes — jealousy
robbers — wrong views, including fanatical views
prisons — greed and miserliness
floods — desire and attachment
demons — doubts caused by delusion
© YoWangdu LLC — YoWangdu Tibetan Culture — www.yowangdu.com Ordinary Tibetans pray to her when we are sick, when leaving for a long journey,
or when we hope for success or wealth. His Holiness’ teaching shows us that this is
not actually the true purpose of praying to or reciting mantras to Tara.
When we chant the Green Tara mantra, we are not simply asking for Tara’s
blessings and help with our lives and our “real world” problems.
Actually, we are also asking to be liberated from the misery of the mental delusions
and negative emotions that blind us to true freedom, and to achieve the same
enlightened body, speech and mind that Tara represents, not only for our own
benefit, but for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Like om mani padme hum, the Green Tara Mantra is much greater than the sum of its
parts, with layers of meaning and benefit that resonate with us beyond what our minds
perceive.
By calling on Tara’s protection from danger and from our fears with a sincere motivation
to be relieved of our suffering for the benefit of all beings, we can gain the multiple
benefits of selfish altruism, and compassionate action, becoming happier ourselves as we
help others.
WEEK TWO PRACTICE
To become familiar with each of the three mantras in this lesson, choose one of the
mantras to recite each day, like this for example:
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Day 1: Recite Om mani padme hum 25 times
Day 2: Recite Om muni muni maha muniye soha 25 times
Day 3: Recite Om tare tuttare ture soha 25 times
Days 4-7: Pick your favorite of the three mantras, and recite that one 25 times each
day. Of course you can switch it up if you like, and you can say all of them each day
if you like!
You can recite your mantras pretty much any time, anywhere – while walking or sitting
quietly. If you are in a public place it is encouraged not to disturb others or "display" your
practice, or be prideful of it, so you can recite silently to yourself. It's nice to say the
mantras out loud, so you can do this in the privacy of your home or out in nature
somewhere. Of course if you are living in a Tibetan Buddhist community, it is common
and acceptable to say your mantras out loud, especially on circumambulation paths.
Questions? Please ask on our group's Facebook page. And please share your experiences
there too.
PRACTICE TOOLS FOR WEEK TWO
Handout: Mantra practice
© YoWangdu LLC — YoWangdu Tibetan Culture — www.yowangdu.com